1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a floor mat to be laid on the floor of a gymnasium or the like, and more particularly to a floor mat adapted for indoor sports and made up of a plurality of mat units which can be fastened or unfastened.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,350,721 discloses an example of a conventional indoor sport floor mat. The indoor sport floor mat of the U.S. patent is made up of a plurality of mat units, and floor marks, such as lines used for sport games, are painted on the surface of each mat unit. The mat units to be laid adjacent to each other are fastened together by a slide fastener. This slide fastener is made up of a pair of fastener tapes, and a slider slidably fitted around the fastener tapes. Each fastener tape has a teeth train which is engageable with that of another fastener tape. Both end portions of the fastener tape are projected from the mat unit by 10 cm or so. The fastener tape is flexible, but has a certain degree of hardness.
The projected end portion of the fastener tape has a non-tooth guide section, and a positioning mark is written on the guide section. When the slider is at the non-tooth guide section, the fastener tapes can be slid relative to each other in the longitudinal direction of the non-tooth guide sections. The teeth train of one fastener tape and that of another can be brought into engagement with each other by first adjusting the positioning marks of the two guide sections and then pulling the slider toward the teeth trains. In this manner, a pair of mat units can be fastened together, with the floor marks on the mat units being adjusted in position.
The conventional floor mat mentioned above does not look very attractive, since the end portions of the fastener tape is projected from each mat unit. In addition, a player may trip on the end portion of the fastener tape. The fastener tape end portions can be fixed to the floor by means of an adhesive tape, but it is troublesome to fix all fastener tape end portions to the floor. It should be also noted that the fastener tape end portions are kept exposed even after they are fixed to the floor. Since they are trodden on by players, the positioning marks on them are likely to be worn away.
After the end of a game, the mat units are unfastened from one another and rolled up, so as to carry them easily. It should be noted, however, that the fastener tape end portions are kept projected from the rolled mat units. Such fastener tape end portions are dangerous when the mat units are being carried, since they may touch or scratch the body of a person carrying the rolled mat units.